Tim Anaya
Blog
Next Big California Ballot Fight: Legalizing Sports Wagering
Voters wary of the deluge of campaign advertising related to recall election be warned. The next multi-million-dollar ballot fight is just around the corner. According to Politico, “major gambling players (including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM) intend to ante up $100 million for an online sports betting initiative that would fund ...
Blog
Another Big Company Leaves California. What Will It Take for State Officials to Change Course?
Forgive us if we sound like a broken record, but the exodus of California businesses out of the state to more affordable and competitive economic climates grew worse last week. The Los Angeles Times reports that the latest corporate headquarters to announce their departure is AECOM, the global engineering and ...
Blog
Should we Beware the Ides of September?
Gov. Gavin Newsom made waves this week when he said that mandatory state water restrictions could be coming soon to a dry lawn near you. “At the moment, we’re doing great,” Newsom said. “But if we enter another year of drought – and as you know our water season starts ...
Blog
Legislature Comes Back in Session This Week with Lots of Unfinished Business
Today, the Legislature reconvenes for the final month of the 2021 legislative session. For the next four weeks, lawmakers will be on a mad dash to finalize its work before the September 10 deadline. This year’s legislative session can best be described as being overshadowed by events. On last week’s ...
Blog
In Bipartisan Vote, U.S. Senate Follows PRI’s Advice in Rejecting ‘Costly Subsidies for the Rich’
You may have missed it amidst the “vote-a-rama” on dozens of amendments to the Senate Democrats’ $3.5 billion budget reconciliation bill being voted on early Wednesday morning, but a key bipartisan vote could put an end to what PRI has termed “costly subsidies for the rich,” or taxpayers subsidizing electric ...
Blog
Biden’s Electric Vehicle Push Shows He Hasn’t Learned from California’s Mistakes
President Biden announced new federal action on Thursday designed to increase the role of government officials as car salesmen. Politico reports that Biden signed an executive order “setting a target that half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 will be zero-emissions vehicles, primarily electric cars and trucks.” The administration ...
Blog
It’s Finally Infrastructure Week . . . But Is That a Good Thing?
At long last, it’s finally “Infrastructure Week.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican and Democrat senators resolved their final differences with President Biden and reached a long-elusive agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizing $550 billion in new spending over 5 years. Later that night, the Senate voted 67 to ...
Blog
More Mixed Messaging from Newsom Complicates Vaccination Push
Mixed messaging continues to be a problem for the Newsom administration in its efforts to get more Californians to get vaccinated. Right now, roughly 61 percent of Californians are fully vaccinated, complicating efforts to reach its 70 percent plus goal for herd immunity. The problem is perilous for Newsom on ...
Blog
Will SALT Cap Dilemma Thwart Biden’s Big Spending Plans?
The latest Washington buzz has the Senate likely voting on the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the federal budget resolution that will fuel President Biden’s big spending plans by sometime in August. But the debate over the repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap threatens to be the ...
Blog
Monday’s Budget Vote Typical of Perhaps Least Open Budget Process in Recent Years
Lawmakers on Monday voted on what’s now commonly referred to as a “Budget Bill Jr.” Since the passage of Prop. 25, which enacted a majority vote budget and docked lawmaker pay if budgets were adopted past June 15, lawmakers have routinely passed on-time budgets to keep getting paid, regardless of ...
Next Big California Ballot Fight: Legalizing Sports Wagering
Voters wary of the deluge of campaign advertising related to recall election be warned. The next multi-million-dollar ballot fight is just around the corner. According to Politico, “major gambling players (including DraftKings, FanDuel and BetMGM) intend to ante up $100 million for an online sports betting initiative that would fund ...
Another Big Company Leaves California. What Will It Take for State Officials to Change Course?
Forgive us if we sound like a broken record, but the exodus of California businesses out of the state to more affordable and competitive economic climates grew worse last week. The Los Angeles Times reports that the latest corporate headquarters to announce their departure is AECOM, the global engineering and ...
Should we Beware the Ides of September?
Gov. Gavin Newsom made waves this week when he said that mandatory state water restrictions could be coming soon to a dry lawn near you. “At the moment, we’re doing great,” Newsom said. “But if we enter another year of drought – and as you know our water season starts ...
Legislature Comes Back in Session This Week with Lots of Unfinished Business
Today, the Legislature reconvenes for the final month of the 2021 legislative session. For the next four weeks, lawmakers will be on a mad dash to finalize its work before the September 10 deadline. This year’s legislative session can best be described as being overshadowed by events. On last week’s ...
In Bipartisan Vote, U.S. Senate Follows PRI’s Advice in Rejecting ‘Costly Subsidies for the Rich’
You may have missed it amidst the “vote-a-rama” on dozens of amendments to the Senate Democrats’ $3.5 billion budget reconciliation bill being voted on early Wednesday morning, but a key bipartisan vote could put an end to what PRI has termed “costly subsidies for the rich,” or taxpayers subsidizing electric ...
Biden’s Electric Vehicle Push Shows He Hasn’t Learned from California’s Mistakes
President Biden announced new federal action on Thursday designed to increase the role of government officials as car salesmen. Politico reports that Biden signed an executive order “setting a target that half of all new vehicle sales by 2030 will be zero-emissions vehicles, primarily electric cars and trucks.” The administration ...
It’s Finally Infrastructure Week . . . But Is That a Good Thing?
At long last, it’s finally “Infrastructure Week.” On Wednesday, a group of Republican and Democrat senators resolved their final differences with President Biden and reached a long-elusive agreement on a bipartisan infrastructure bill authorizing $550 billion in new spending over 5 years. Later that night, the Senate voted 67 to ...
More Mixed Messaging from Newsom Complicates Vaccination Push
Mixed messaging continues to be a problem for the Newsom administration in its efforts to get more Californians to get vaccinated. Right now, roughly 61 percent of Californians are fully vaccinated, complicating efforts to reach its 70 percent plus goal for herd immunity. The problem is perilous for Newsom on ...
Will SALT Cap Dilemma Thwart Biden’s Big Spending Plans?
The latest Washington buzz has the Senate likely voting on the bipartisan infrastructure deal and the federal budget resolution that will fuel President Biden’s big spending plans by sometime in August. But the debate over the repeal of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap threatens to be the ...
Monday’s Budget Vote Typical of Perhaps Least Open Budget Process in Recent Years
Lawmakers on Monday voted on what’s now commonly referred to as a “Budget Bill Jr.” Since the passage of Prop. 25, which enacted a majority vote budget and docked lawmaker pay if budgets were adopted past June 15, lawmakers have routinely passed on-time budgets to keep getting paid, regardless of ...
